Trolley-pole retriever.



T. B. SHANAHAN. TROLLEY POLE RETRIEVBR. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1, 1909.1, 1 1 9,887, Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

3 BHEETS-SHEET 1.

- WITNESSES: INVENTOR ATTORNEYS 'u! NORRIS F'FIERS 1J0. PHUTCJ-LIHIIwAwuNuIu/v. n l

T. B. SHANAHAN.

TROLLEY POLE RETRIEVER.

APPLICATION IILED BEPT.1, 1909.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES:

dzipf ATTORNEYS INVENTOR fi VIJ Q/ T. B. SHANAHAN. TROLLBY POLERBTRIEVER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. l, 1909. 1, 1 1 9,887, Patented Dec 8, 1914.

3 BHEETS-8HEET 3.

INVENTOR 738 ATTORNEYS ns NORRIS PETERS m, FNOTD-LIIHQ, WASHING ruN ov cUNITED srarns PAETENT onnioE.

THOMAS B. SHANAHAN, 0F MANLIUS;NEW "YORK.

TROLLEY-POLE RETRIEVER.

Application filed September 1, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, THOMAS B. Si-IANA- HAN, of Manhus, in the county ofOnondaga and State of New York, have invented a certain new and usefulTrolley-Pole Retriever, of which the following is a spec1fication.

My invention has for its object the proconsists in the combinations andconstructions hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In describing this invention, reference is had to the accompanyingdrawing in which like characters parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View, partly in elevation, of mytrolley-pole retriever. Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views looking inopposite directions taken, respec' tively, on lines A.A and B--B,Fig. 1. Figs. 4: and 5 are opposite end views of the reel, the shaftbeing shown in section. Fig. 6 is a face view of the detached disk fixedto the shaft. Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views of the cams for shiftin gthe anchor member.

This trolley-pole retriever comprises gen erally a support, a reel forthe trolley-pole rope, a spring for turning the reel to wind the ropethereon, the spring being normally under tension and disconnected fromthe reel, and shiitable means for holding the spring under tension andfor connecting the spring to the reel.

The support 1 which may be 01 any desirable form, size and construction,is here shown as a hollow shell comprising an innor wall or base 2, anda cap 3 detachably secured to the wall or base 2 by any suit able means,as screws 4. The wall or base 2 of the support 1 is provided with anydesirable means, as an external flange 5 adapted to be attached to thedashboard or other suitable part of the car, and is provided on itsinterior with an axially arranged hub 6 formed with a socket 7 extendinglengthwise therein from its inner end; and the cap 3 is formed with anopening 8 arranged in axial alinement with the socket 7 and is alsoformed with an opening 9, Fig. 2, for permitting the passage of thetrolley-pole rope 10.

As best seen in Fig. 1, the reel 11 is Specification of Letters Patent.

desi nate corres' ondin Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

Serial No. 515,688.

loosely mounted on a shaft 12 journaled in the support 1, as hereinafterdescribed, said reel having oppositely extending hubs 13, 14, one hub 13abutting against the free end of the hub 6. A spring 15 for winding thetrolley-pole rope upon the reel 11 is arranged at one side of the reel11 and within a chamber 16 formed around the hub 6 in the wall or base 2of the support 1, the outer end of the spring 15 being suitably fixed,as by a rivet 17 to the wall or base 2. The inner end of the spring 15is connected to a holder 18 consisting of a disk located between thespring 15 and the reel 11, and a hub 19 which encircles the hub 6 withinthe chamber 16 and is suitably fixed to the inner end of the spring, asby a rivet 20, the free end of the hub 19 engaging the inner face of thewall or base 2.

The .Slll'ftitblfi means for normally holding the s n'ing 15 undertension and for connecting the spring to the reel comprises a lockingmcn'iber 21 movable about the axis of the reel 11, and also lengthwiseof such axis and the shaft 12, and here shown as a disk loosely mountedon the hub 6 and provided with a hub extending toward the cap 3. Thismember 21 is slidably intGIlOCkOd with the spring holder 18, being hereshown as formed with openings which receive shoulders 23 projecting fromthe opposing surface of the holder. Said member 21 is also provided withnotches extending inwardly from its peripheral edge and formingshoulders 24 for coacting alternately with shoulders 25, 26 providedrespectively upon opposing faces of the inner wall or base 2 of thesupport 1, and the reel 11, the shoulders 24; being normally engagedwith the shoulders 25 and being movable out of engagement therewith intoengagement with the shoulders 26 when the member 21 is shifted to theright. The shoulders 23 are of greater length than the shoulders 25 or26 so that said member 21 is engaged with. the shoulders 23 when. theshoulders 24. are engaged either with the shoulders 25 or the shoulders26; and the shoulders 25, 26 are preferably provided with inclined orcam faces coacting with the shoulders 2-l for facilitating the shiftingof the member 21. Whenthe member 21 is in its position assumed in Fig. 1with its shoulders 24; engaged with the shoulders 25, the spring 15 isdisconnected from the reel 11 and is held under tension, but when themember 21 has been moved axially to the right disengaging its shoulders24 from the shoulders 25 and engaging the shoulders 24 and 26, theholder 18 and the member 21 connect the spring 15 to the reel 11, andthereupon the spring 15 operates to turn the reel and wind thetrolley-pole rope 10 thereon.

As shown in Fig. 1 the locking member 21 is moved axially by the shaft12 which is provided with a pin passed diametrically therethrough, theends 27 of the pin forming shifting arms which are normally engaged withthe right-hand wall 28 of an annular recess 29 in the inner face of thehub 22 and are spaced apart from the opposite wall of such recess. Themovement of the locking member 21 axially toward the right serves tocompress a coiled spring 30 encircling the hub 22 and having itsopposite ends bearing respectively against the contiguous face of themember 21, and an annular shoulder or collar 31 fixed to the innerextremity of the hub 6, and consequently this spring 30 tends toyieldingly force the locking member 21 toward the left and disengage itsshoulders 24 from the shoulders 26 of the reel, and engage saidshoulders 24 with the shoulders 25 of the wall or base 2 of thesupport 1. This shoulder or collar 31 is shown as formed separable fromthe hub 6 and as secured thereto by a fastening screw 32..

The shaft 12 is journaled at one end in the socket 7 of the hub 6 andterminates short of the bottom of the socket 7, and said shaft is movedaxially toward the right by a spring 33 arranged between the bottom ofthe socket 7 and the opposing end of the shaft, and is moved axially inthe reverse direction and normally held from axial movement by thespring 33 by segmental cams 3% arranged on opposite sides of the axis ofthe shaft and fixed to the contiguous portion of the cap 3, these cams3a engag ing segmental bearing faces 35 fixed relatii'ely to the shaft12 and arranged on opposite sides of the axis thereof, and normallyengaged with the high points of the cams 34 by reason of the spring 33press ing against the opposite end of the shaft. Preferably, the bearingfaces 35 are provided on a sleeve 36 suitably fixed to the shaft 12,this sleeve being directly journaled in the opening 8 of the cap 3.

When the free end of the trolley-pole flies upwardly, owing to thedisengagement of the trolley from the wire, the shaft 12 is partiallyrotated with the reel.11 by connections, presently described, and uponsuch rotation of the shaft, the bearing faces 35 are rotated from theirnormal position in engagement with the high points of the cams 34 to aposition opposite to the low points of said cams. During this partialrotation of the shaft the spring 33 forces the shaft axially, and owingto the engagement of the shifting arms 27 with the face 28 of the hub 22of the locking member 21, said member moves axially with the shaft,disengaging its shoulders 24 from the shoulders 25 of the support 1 andengaging said shoulders 24 with the shoulders 26 of the reel 11, andthus connecting the spring 15 to the reel 11 for rotating the same towind the trolley-pole'rope thereupon. Upon the reverse'partial rotationof the shaft 12 the faces 35 ride up the inclined surfaces of the cams341, thus moving the shaft to the left against the action of the spring33, and per mitting the spring 30 to move the locking member 21 to theleft, and disengage the shoulders 2 1 of such member from the shoulders26 of the reel and engage said 7 shoulders 24 with the shoulders 25 ofthe support 1, thereby disconnecting the spring 15 from the reel 11. Itwill be apparent that the engagement of the shoulders 24: with theshoulders 25 and 26 is effected by the springs 30 and 33, therebyavoiding liability of injury to said shoulders 24, 25 and 26 when beingengaged. It will also be noted that the locking member 21 is con nectedto the shaft 12 by a lost motion, owing to the space interposed betweenthe shifting arms 27 and the left-hand wall of the recess 29, this lostmotion permitting the shaf 12 to move independently of the lockingmember 21, and enabling the spring 30 to move the locking memberyieldingly independently of the shaft 12 into engagement with theshoulders 25 of the support 1.

The means for connecting the reel 11 to the shaft 12 when the trolley isdisengaged L from the trolley wire, preferably consists of dogs 37, Fig.5, pivoted intermediate of their ends at 38 to the right-hand face ofthe reel'll, correspondingends of the dogs 37 beingadapted to engagewith a disk 39 fixed to the shaft 12 and their other ends being weightedand connected to springs 10 carried by the reel 11, these springs 40normally holding the dogs '37 out of engagement with the disk 39. Thecontrifugal force due to the rapid rotation of the reel 11 by the upwardimpulse of the free end of the trolley-pole when the trolley isdisengaged from the wire, throws the weighted ends of the dogs 37outwardly and causes theopposite ends of said dogs to engage the disk39, whereupon the reel 11, the disk 39 and the shaft 12 revolvetogether.

The disk 39 is shown as formed separable from the shaft 12, as havingopposite faces thereof respectively engaged with a bearing face -11 onthe inside of the cap 3 of the sup port 1, and the inner end of the hub14 of the reel 11, and as'provided with openings 42 which receive armsor lugs 13 provided upon the sleeve 36 carrying the bearing faces 35,the lugs 13 serving to rigidly connect the disk 39, and said sleeve 36.A coiled spring.

44 is arranged between the disk 39 and the web of the reel 11, one endof said spring being suitably fixed, as by rivets 45, to the hub 14, andthe other end thereof being fixed to a stud 46 passed through anarc-shaped slot 47 in the disk 39 and secured to the cap 3 of thesupport 1. This spring 44% serves to rotate the reel 11 to take up theslack in the trolley-pole rope due to the different levels of thetrolley wire. As there are two dogs 37 for coacting with the teeth ofthe disk 39, a part of the periphery of said disk may be left smooth andwhen one of the dogs is opposite such smooth surface, the other dog willbe engaged with the teeth of said disk.

My trolley-pole retriever is provided with a hand lever 4:8 which issuitably fixed to the shaft 12, being here shown as mounted upon the endof the sleeve 36 carrying the bearing faces 35. This lever is held inposition by any suitable means, as a plate 19, and a screw 50 passedthrough the plate 49 into the end of said sleeve 36. The hand lever 48provides means for enabling the operator to rotate the shaft 12 to movethe locking member 21 into engagement with the shoulders 25 and thusreset the locking member in its normal position after the trolley-polehas been retrieved.

In operation when the trolley leaves the wire and the pole fliesupwardly, unwinding the rope from the reel and violently rotating thereel 11, the centrifugal pawls 37 are thrown outwardly against theaction of their springs 40, into engagement with the ratchet teeth ofthe disk 39, rotating said disk part of a revolution sufficiently toposition the cams 35 between the cams 34, Fig. 2, so that the spring 33can shift the shaft 12 axially to the right, Fig. 1, such movement ofthe shaft carrying the anchor member 21 therewith by reason of theengagement of the pins 27 with the shoulder 28 on the hub of the anchormember, and also carrying the anchor member out of engagement with theshoulders 25 of the support and into engagement with the shoulders 26 ofthe reel so that the main spring 15 is anchored at its outer end at 17to the support and connected at its inner end to the reel. Upon theengagement of the anchor member with the reel, the main spring 15 isfree to act and rotates the reel in the reverse direction to that inwhich it is rotated by the trolley rope, such movement retrieving thetrolle and relieving the pawls 37 of their frictional engagement withthe disk 39 so that the pawls are free to return to their initialposition under the influence of their springs 40. Unwinding of thetrolley rope sufficiently to again place the trolley on the wire andgive the rope the usual slack, again tensions the main spring,

and the trolley having been placed on the wire, the anchor member andassociated parts again are reset by operating the handle 48.

WhatI claim is 1. A. trolley pole retriever comprising a case, a reelfor the trolley pole rope, a spring arranged in the case, and locatedoutside of the reel, the spring being fixed at one end to the case, ananchor member con-. nccted to the other end of the spring, the casehaving an annular clutch face opposed to an end of the reel and theanchor member coacting with said clutch face and being shiftable axiallybetween the spring and the opposing end of the reel and being normallyengaged with the clutch face of the case and shiftable into engagementwith the face of the reel, centrifugal means located on the other end ofthe reel and shifting means coacting with the centrifugal means, theshifting means including a part located at the latter end of the reelbetween the same and the opposing wall of the case, saidpart beingconnected to the anchor member to shift the same, substantially as andfor the purpose described.

2. A trolley pole retriever comprising a case, a reel for the trolleypole rope within the case, the case and the reel being formed withopposing clutch faces and the reel being non-movable axially; a coiledspring located in the case outside of the reel and connected atone endto the case, an anchor member, in the general form of a disk, connectedto the other end of the spring and interposed between said opposingclutch faces and the disk having means normally interlocking with theclutch face of the case and being shiftable into interlocking engagementinto the clutch face of the reel, a compression spring located withinthe reel and acting onthe anchor member to hold the same in its normalposition. means for. shifting the anchor member against the action ofthe spring including a shaft extending axially of the reel and connectedto the anchor member, the shaft being shiftable axially, cams associatedwith the shaft and the case and normally arranged with their high pointsin engagement, a spring normally tending to shift the shaft in onedirection, a disk interposed between the other end of the reel and thecase, and connected to one of the cams to rotate the same, andcentrifugal pawls carried by the latter end of the reel and coactingwith the disk to rotate the same, substantially as and for the purposespecified.

3. A trolley-pole retriever comprising a support, a shaft carried by thesupport, a reel for the trolley-pole rope, the reel being looselymounted on the shaft, a spring for turning the reel to wind the ropethereon, the spring being connected to the support, a member movableabout the axis of the shaft .the shaft, a spring for moving the shaftaxially to shift said member, at the end of the partial rotation of theshaft, and means arranged to prevent such axial movement of the shaft,substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. A trolley-pole retriever comprising a support, a shaft carried by thesupport, a

reel for the trolley-pole rope, the reel being loosely mounted on theshaft, and the shaft being movable axially relatively to the reel, aspring for turning the reel to wind the rope thereon, the spring beingconnected to the support, a member movable about the axis of the shaftand connected to the spring, the member normally en aging the supportand being movable lengthwise of the axis of the shaft with said shaftout of engagement with the support and into engagement with the reel,and means for controlling the shifting of said member into engagementwith the reel, said means comprisinga part operable by the free rotationof the reel in one direction to partially rotate the shaft, a spring formoving the shaft axially to shift said member, at the end of the partialrotation of the shaft, and means arranged to normally prevent such axialmovement of the shaft, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. A trolley-pole retriever comprising a support, a reel for thetrolley-pole rope, a spring for turning the reel to wind the ropethereon, the spring being connected to the support,a member connected tothe spring and normally engagingthe support, yielding means for forcingthe member into engagement withthe support, and additional yieldingmeans for forcing the member out of engagement with the support intoengagement with the reel, and means for normally restraining theoperation of said additional yielding means, and means operable by thealso provided with a socket for receiving one end of the shaft, said endof the shaft terminating short of the bottom of the socket, a reel forthe trolleypole ,rope, the reel being loosely mounted on the shaft andbeing held from movement axially relatively thereto, a

spring for turning the reel to wind the rope thereon, the spring beinglocated outside of the reel around the hub and having one end fixed tothe support, a holder loosely mounted on the hub and movable about theaxis of the shaft and fixed to the other end of the spring, a memberloosely mounted on the hub and movable about the axis of the shaft andslidably interlocked with the holder, the member normally engaging thesupport and bein movable lengthwise of the axis of the shaft out ofengagement with the support and into engagement with the reel, ashoulder fixed to the shaft and engaging the member for moving the sameaxially in one direction, said shoulder having a movement independentlyof the member, a spring between the shoulder on the hub and the memberfor moving the member axially in the opposite direction into engagementwith the support, a fixed cam for forcing the shaft axiallyin one dirction as the shaft turns about its axis, and a spring between the end ofthe shaft and the bottom of said socket for forcing the shaft axially inthe opposite direction as the shaft turns in the reversedirection,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

in testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence oftwo attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, 1n the county of Onondaga, in theState of New York, this 30th day of August, 1909.

THOMAS B. SHANAHAN. Vlitnesses:

S. DAVIS, E. K. SEEMILLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

